Bayleys news & articles

Demo’ kitchen and cook book store prove a tasty offering for property investors

Tuesday, 4 September 2018

Tags: Commercial

The land and building housing a purpose-built commercial-grade demonstration kitchen which has hosted internationally renowned chefs such as Gordon Ramsay, Rick Stein and Anthony Bourdain has been placed on the market for sale.

The two-storey property at 19 Williamson Avenue in the Auckland city-fringe suburb of Grey Lynn also houses well-known bookshop Cook The Books which specialises in culinary reads for ‘foodies’.

In addition to hosting famous international chefs, Cook The Books and its associated demo’ kitchen have also promoted local authors and cooks such as Peter Gordon, Peta Mathias, Julie Le Clerc, Ruth Pretty, Peter Chaplin, Richard Till, Julie Biuso, and Al Brown.

Live cooking demonstrations are held on a monthly-basis, catering for up to 20 guests at a time – with the venue also hired out for private ‘foodie’ functions and product launches.

The two entities are part of a mixed tenancy schedule at the property which generates annual rental revenue $94,600 plus GST with a further $26,000 per annum generated from multiple storage units. The premises consists of 412 square metres of space – excluding basement car parks and storage areas - sitting on 278 square metres of freehold land which is zoned business – mixed use.

The upper level of the property contains an upmarket 130 square metre two-bedroom owner/occupier flat with an additional 45 metres of north-facing decking. The apartment has its access off Williamson Avenue and has a rental appraisal of between $950 - $1100 per week – providing opportunities to either owner/occupy or increase the total rental income.

The commercial tenancy schedule for the property consists of:

• Treats and Morsels – trading as Cook the Books - on a lease running through until 2023, paying annual rental of $40,000 plus GST for its street-facing retail unit

• On-line fashion clothing label The Mercantile on a lease running through until 2020 with two further three-year rights of renewal, paying annual rental of $25,000 plus GST

• Florist Nina for Flowers on a lease running through until 2020 with two further three-year rights of renewal, paying annual rental of $10,400 plus GST and

• Eight individual storage lockers on various short-term arrangements, paying combined annual rental of approximately $26,000 and occupying the equivalent of two car park spaces.

The land and buildings at 19 Williamson Avenue is now being marketed for sale by tender through Bayleys Auckland, with tenders closing at 4pm on September 20. Bayleys Auckland salespeople Mike Adams, Laurie Bell and Jean-Paul Smit said Cook The Books’ display kitchen and bookshop had occupied the premises for three years – building up a strong and loyal clientele during that time.

“The combined symbiotic sensory nature of the bookstore and live kitchen work perfectly for the tenant, and as a result they have enjoyed a long and prosperous occupancy within the property which is conveniently located close to Ponsonby Road,” Mr Adams said.

“The diversity of revenue stream from multiple tenancies makes the property an attractive investment opportunity. The residential dwelling within the property opens up the possibility of an on-going owner/occupier configuration with the options of running a business from either the basement-level space or the ground-level retail portion, or adding to the rental income by letting the apartment.

“A recent desktop rental appraisal for the two-bedroom apartment within the property indicates an anticipated return of between $950 - $1100 per week.”

Mr Bell said the concrete block and tilt slab building was substantially refurbished in 20014/15 – including strengthening and the addition of the apartment.

Mr Smit said the immediate neighbourhood around the Williamson Avenue property comprised a mix of 100-year-old villas and bungalows, modern terraced housing units, and small pockets of commercial and light-industrial units.

“Over the past decade there has been a trend toward removing or demolishing existing ‘old’ housing stock and redeveloping the land with a mix of retail/office and residential premises,” he said.

Auckland Council’s business – mixed use zoning allows for the construction of buildings up to 18 metres high, and Mr Smit said this aspect could appeal to developers. The building is rated at 100 percent of New Building Standards, and features reinforced concrete columns, reinforced concrete masonry walls, and interior steel columns on reinforced concrete slab flooring.